The TOYOTA GAZOO Racing World Rally Team leads after the first full day of Rally Finland. Ott Tänak delivered a strong performance throughout, winning five stages and leading by 5.8 seconds heading into Saturday. His team-mate Jari-Matti Latvala also occupies a podium position in third place.

Car 8 (Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja)

Already leading after the opening stage in Jyväskylä on Thursday evening, Tänak then won the first stage of Friday with an impressive drive. Despite his unfavourable road position, he had a close battle with Mads Ostberg over the rest of the day, with the pair trading places and even setting identical fastest times on the 20-kilometre-long Moksi 2, before Tänak took control in the evening. Latvala enjoyed a positive day on home ground, adding another stage win for Toyota on the second stage of the morning loop. He ended the day 23.1s off the lead and 13.3s ahead of fourth. Esapekka Lappi lost time on the day’s first stage when he stalled in a junction, but he showed strong speed in the afternoon, including being part of a top-three lock-out of the fastest times on SS9 for the Toyota Yaris WRC. He ended the day eighth, just 2.5s behind sixth.

Quotes:Tommi Mäkinen (Team Principal) “Overall, it has been a very good day. Ott has been incredibly fast. He didn’t have the easiest conditions today running third on the road: The stages are so dry compared to what we are used to here in Finland, so there has been a lot of road cleaning for the first cars. Tomorrow, the conditions will be more equal, so let’s see what he can do then. I think there could be more speed to come from Jari-Matti too, as normally he is always flying on the roads we go to tomorrow. I am sure Esapekka can go faster as well. He had a problem with the centre differential this morning so his car was a bit nervous, but we solved the issue and he was much happier this afternoon. It is great to be doing well again at our home event. The competition has got tougher, just as we expected, but I am feeling confident.”

Jari-Matti Latvala (Driver car 7) “I think today has been pretty good. On the first stage it was difficult to get into the rhythm, but then I found it on the second stage. I also made the car a bit stiffer to have some more stability, and since that I’ve been happy. I was a bit too careful on the first stage this afternoon but I was able to fight back and claim third position. I am enjoying the driving and hopefully I can improve a bit more tomorrow.”

Ott Tänak (Driver car 8) “I am really happy with my day. Everything has been working just perfectly. I have a lot of confidence in the car and it is really nice to drive on these roads. Except for one moment where I stalled the engine and lost a bit of time, I did everything that I could. The roads have been pretty slippery with a lot of cleaning. Tomorrow, we will have the same conditions as the guys we have been fighting with today, which will be good, but it still won’t be easy.”

Esapekka Lappi (Driver car 9) “This morning was a bit of a struggle: I stalled in a junction in the first stage, which was very disappointing, and after that I was having difficulty finding a rhythm. In service the engineers found a small issue on the car and were able to fix it. After that, it started to go well and the speed was more like what I was expecting. Of course I wanted to be fighting for the victory, but there are still two days to go and some good chances to gain positions.”

What’s next? Saturday is the longest day of the rally, with 142.86 competitive kilometres spread over eight stages around the town of Jämsa to the south of Jyväskylä. These include Pihlajakoski – the only stage unchanged from 2017 – and Kakaristo, a new stage that includes sections from the famous Ouninpohja test.